Category Archives: Car Dealer Dealer Process

I have been pretty much silent in the realm of automotive digital chatter lately. Perhaps it is because I needed to learn more or discover what has changed on a real sales floor. Since July 2013, I have been back at Carl Cannon Chevrolet in Jasper, Alabama discovering first hand again what challenges lie ahead for professionals in this field.

This is where the digital journey began for me with GM Buy Power and Autobytel in the last century. I know we all realize what has transpired since then with technology. What I have found that has not changed is; The fact that without professional sales people who have been properly trained to greet, speak, listen, and evaluate, fewer cars get sold. Whether online or in person the big numbers just do not happen. It truly seems that the more we learn, the less we do and that is the reverse of what is necessary to get to the top. This is just a quick “hell yes I am still here” shout out. Those of you who get after it all day, every day, are winning and deserve it. Those of you who are taking shortcuts and using technology to cherry pick your prospects need to find another job because your success is temporary. Stop wasting your dealers time and money and get dedicated.
If it were easy, everyone would do it!

Every dealership I have visited lately has the phone calls tracked or not, going to the switchboard or BDC. Then they round robin to sales staff if the BDC is busy “We know that never happens;” The problem is either the GM, GSM, or phone king still will not make it mandatory that the BDC or salespeople have inventory, incentives, and information open on their desktop all day. We have to sell the appointment! Please, how ridiculous.
They all have computers but they refuse to use the data or, the login to pertinent data is top secret. I knew it, gotta have an appointment then a 4 square right? I call BS and in 2018, we are still doing this on the sales floor at many dealerships..

Managers who keep information from sales staff are practitioners of Bovine Skitology period.
We know all of our customers are online. We know the manufacturers and everyone else who can gives them data that is, for the most part correct. Below is what I hear when I listen to calls. But are all of the walk in customers immune to the data flow we are feeding to the universe? It is simply impossible.
Be ready or stay away from customers, period!

Thank you for calling ABC motors: ” Yes new car sales please” one moment: “new car sales this is Joe Bob,”
“kelp ye?” (Yes seaweed) ” I am calling about the 2017 Camry you have listed on whatever .com, gold with tan leather, is it still available?”
“Yep sure is” ” can you tell me anything about it?” “I think it has been marked down to $21699 but I can beat that a ton” “Really, online it says must go $14650.00 out the door” That’s a typo. Oh, okay do you know what it should actually be?” ” Naw, but I can git with the manager and call you right back, whats that number?” click:

Now, they tell everyone about this highly professional individual at XYZ dealership.
The other thing is “get this now,” we have started slipping away from the basics again. I know it is hard to believe, not us. Now that people are selling cars we are right back to the shortcuts. If you are always looking for the easy way out, get out of the car business. You are the reason we we have obstacles with our customers and they have a hard time respecting us, this is our problem. Get rid of the dead weight and start practicing customer service.

Either way you loose the deal.

Does anyone else see this? If you are doing this, do you need to be at Burger King saying, “would you like some fries with that?” When phone prospects buy over 85% of the time, why screw it up? If you do not know what you are doing or you do not feel comfortable, stay away from the phone, pay attention and learn.
Managers, do not lose focus on the fact that you are responsible for taking up slack. In a store the other day I watched in amazement as a lady who had lost her 2 of the family vehicles in recent storms call back 3 times to get to someone. Instead of just taking the call, the managers had to find a sales specialist to do it. Yep, five more minutes observing fault instead of contributing to leadership. I would have fired their ass if I had the authority.